


Care

by Millixi77



Series: Animal Traits AU [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Animal Traits, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Slight Animalistic Tendencies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 23:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17590769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Millixi77/pseuds/Millixi77
Summary: Kaede gets yet another unsolicited package from an ex who doesn't seem to know how to let go.Everyone else springs into action almost immediately.





	Care

**Author's Note:**

> Some people were talking about people with some animal traits over on Tumblr. I have an OT5. I have an imagination. Most importantly, I had access to a keyboard. As well as spare time.
> 
> Cue this. I may or may not write more oneshots set in this universe. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Shuuichi’s tail twitched three times in a row, then stopped. Almost immediately, he looked up, and the cat ears on the top of his head turned towards the door of his room.

 

He couldn't hear anything.

 

At that, he sat up straight, his eyes widening. _This_ apartment? Silent? On a Saturday morning?

 

Impossible.

 

He quickly marked the place in the book he was reading with a bookmark, and stood up from his desk. He walked up to the door of his room without making any noise, then pressed hie ear to the door.

 

Nothing.

 

He could feel his tail stiffen and his cat ears pin themselves to the top of his head as he pulled away from the door. He hadn't heard anyone go out earlier, and the silence he was hearing wasn't the natural silence that would accompany a peaceful morning. It was a tense, unnaturally quiet silence that sent alarm bells ringing in his head and fear chilling his spine.

 

He hadn't heard any sounds of an argument earlier, either. This wasn't the stony silence that resulted from something like that.

 

The only thing he'd heard was someone opening the door.

 

However, not only had everyone gone silent all of a sudden, their scents had changed drastically. The air now held a sharp, saccharine sweet mix of surprise and… embarrassment? There was also a peppery hint of anger that made Shuuichi's claws extend with how abruptly it arrived.

 

What had happened?

 

He moved his hand to the doorknob and opened the door as quietly as possible, peeking out.

 

Kaede was holding a package. The unusual thing, however, was how her ears and tail seemed to be twitching. Her claws were also extended, and the scowl on her face made it look as if she wanted to rip the package apart with her bare hands before burning the remains.

 

Kokichi was sitting on the couch, his cat ears twitching a little and his tail lashing from side to side as he looked at Kaede. His claws weren't extended, and the expression on his face was almost terrifyingly blank.

 

In the other side of the spectrum, Kaito and Maki were more openly showing their feelings of unease. Maki’s glare was dark and menacing, and her entire body was tense, as if she was about to pounce. Her claws were barely avoiding tearing the fabric of the couch.

 

The pillow Kaito was holding wasn't so lucky. The stuffing was already spilling out, and the almost unnoticeable sound of fabric tearing was the only thing that Shuuichi could hear, apart from everyone's breathing. Kaito looked as if he was about to growl, and he looked _pissed_.

 

Then it all clicked.

 

Shuuichi had to force himself not to cringe right back into his room. If it was a package that elicited that sort of reaction…

 

Fantastic.

 

He could feel his heart sink. That moron just never seemed to get the damn message…

 

Those goddamn packages were as good as cursed. If they didn't contain stupidly expensive “gifts” with long, pitiful letters that were begging her to come back, they contained some… threatening items and pictures coupled with swath threats.

 

His mood seemed to swing a lot in regards to Kaede. So much so that they had eventually stopped bothering to open the packages because their contents gradually became either too pitying or threatening to let them have peace of mind after opening them.

 

And now, look at what had happened. Another disaster, neatly packaged, never to be opened and yet still snatching away all of the peace that had been in the apartment.

 

The silence seemed to be in honor of the death of the calm atmosphere, in his opinion. Overdramatic, maybe, but not as much as the thing that had caused it.

 

“He really tried this shit again?” As expected, Kaito sounded as if he personally wanted to eviscerate the guy.

 

“Yes. He did.” Kaede didn't sound happy about it either.

 

“Can't he get the damn message and stop?”

 

“Apparently not.” Kaede sighed, before unceremoniously dropping the package into the floor. “Some people prefer their fantasies to reality, and it shows.”

 

“He's had a year to get over it.”

 

“He isn't the best at being emotionally competent.”

 

“And if shows. What sort of ex still begs a person to come back after an entire fucking year?”

 

“One with too much time and money, it seems.”

 

“The classic pampered, rich corgi,” Maki said, examining her claws. “They have a hard time letting go, it seems.”

 

“I think that's an extreme understatement,” Kaito said. “It's either attachment issues or some pitiful attempt at emotional manipulation, and at this point, I really feel like we need to confront this guy directly.”

 

“That would be playing right into his hands and causing the drama he wants to start. After me not responding to this, he should get the message.”

 

“According to common sense, he ‘should’ have gotten over this a long time ago.”

 

“Wealth and common sense aren't usually mutually exclusive.”

 

“You have a point.”

 

The atmosphere thawed a little bit, but conversation seemed to have ground itself to a halt. Nobody seemed willing to talk, and if anyone forced a conversation, it would probably result in an argument that nobody wanted to have.

 

He couldn't hide behind something all the time, after all.

 

He gulped, resisting the urge to recoil and curm into a ball. He'd had the… displeasure of meeting Kaede's ex-boyfriend before. Thanks to that disaster of a meeting, he'd become cautious whenever that person had been brought up.

 

Luckily, no one had pressed.

 

The last thing the fool needed was a definite reason for Kokichi, Kaito and Maki to pinpoint him at once. Shuuichi didn't know what would happen, but he knew that it wouldn't be pleasant.

 

(Not for the ex, at the very least.)

 

So he leaned on the door with less grace than before, letting it creak. The feeling of everyone's eyes turning to him was a bit unpleasant, but it sure as hell made him relieved that the silence was going to be lifted, at least somewhat.

 

He gulped, feeling his tail fluff up.

 

“I… think it might be better if we leave the less pleasant discussion for another time. For now… can we just get rid of the package first before anything else?” Just saying that made him feel in edge. Thinking about the fact that something from that bastard was just innocuously sitting in the house like this…

 

It made his skin crawl, and if he hadn't been unsettled by the silence, he'd want to shred the goddamn thing with his claws.

  


“You have a point,” Kokichi said. His tone was neutral, but his agitation was evident. “Nobody feels at peace with that… _thing_ in the house, so eliminating it would be the most feasible option that would let us return to normalcy.”

 

Kaede nodded, kicking the package a small way away from where she was standing. She started jiggling her leg around a bit after that, almost as if she wanted to shake off all trace of having touched it. Her hands started shaking a little as well.

 

At that, everyone spurred into action.

 

Maki snatched up the package with an almost lethal intensity, letting her claws pierce it is she hauled it off to the trash can. Opening it would only fulfill the bastard’s sick little fantasies and okay into whatever convoluted game he wanted to lure them into. Disposing of it would be the best way to spite him.

 

Kaito went and enveloped Kaede in a fierce hug, and that seemed to help her calm down a little. After a few seconds, they went to the couch, sitting down. Kaito still held Kaede in his arms, and she made no move to let go.

 

Kokichi moved to sit in her lap and snuggle with her. He also start purring and nuzzling against her. Shuuichi could tell that it was both meant to help Kaede calm down and help Kokichi calm himself down.

 

Shuuichi couldn't get to the couch fast enough. When he did get there, he sat next to Kaede's other side and hugged her as well, right before he joined Kokichi in purring up a storm. He felt Kaede slowly start to relax, her breathing gradually getting less panicked and strained.

 

The sound of Maki butchering the package in the kitchen made him feel a little better. It might be simple petty revenge, but putty things often were the most fulfilling. This case was no exception.

 

The sound of the package getting tossed into the trash can helped Kaede relax a little bit more, as well as making the air feel a little easier to breathe. Out of sight, out of mind was a saying that worked well in this scenario.

 

He heard Kaito's tail wag a bit, thumping against the couch. Shuuichi couldn't help but smile. _Petty revenge, indeed._ Nobody liked the guy, but Shuuichi had a feeling that Kaito was most likely to initiate physical confrontation if he ever met him.

 

(And he'd win, too. Whether the guy would be passed out in the street or rushed to the hospital was the question that he didn't have an answer to.)

 

The sound of the kitchen tap running, followed by the sound of hands being washed made Shuuichi's ears turn to the kitchen. Either there was some sort of nasty prank hidden inside the package, or Maki had destroyed it a bit too thoroughly.

 

The former was probably the case; immaturity did not come alone; it usually came with with childishness. And of all the ridiculous things to do…

 

He would have sighed, if he hadn't already been purring. Instead, he ramped up the intensity in order to mask his irritation. Kokichi looked up at him for a few seconds, and smirked before shaking his head a little.

 

There wasn't any point in getting irritated over it, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to. Being part cat made it easier for him to carry passive aggressive grudges, and this situation probably wouldn't be an exception.

 

So, in response, he shrugged.

 

Then someone giggled.

 

He turned to Kaede, who had obviously seen the entire exchange.

 

“He's right, you know? Holding a grudge won't make you feel better in the long run.”

 

But it _would_ make him feel better in the short term.

 

And that was enough for him, really. Again, he shrugged. His logic, although flawed, was obvious.

 

Maki soon walked in from the kitchen, looking pleased with herself.

 

“Thanks, Maki,” Kaede said.

 

“It wasn't a problem.” Maki moved to sit on the armrest if the couch closer to Kaede, her tail swinging a little with satisfaction.

 

They all just sat like that for a few more minutes, enjoying the now peaceful atmosphere.

 

“Thanks, guys,” Kaede said, sounding a lot better than before.

 

Kaito spoke for them all when he said, “You're welcome.”


End file.
